New York – Two conferences of importance to the equity research space concluded yesterday in New York City. Great turnout and valuable contributions by thought leaders and financial professionals were the key elements at both the Third Annual AQ Research Conference: Masters of Change, and the Third Annual Forum on Responsible Investing.
The Masters of Change conference covered various topics relevant to equity research such as CSAs/CCAs, technologies to access information, sustainable investing, and the future of equity research. Panelists at this conference agreed that the current market environment will bring challenges to the financial industry in the form of regulatory pressures, clients increased demands, and heightened competition. Research providers will need to find competitive edges to face these challenges.
“We have an internal process to track performance of research providers,” said Tom Massi, Partner and President of Asset Management at Trilogy Global Advisors. “Research providers will need to excel in its transparency and the adequacy of its products for specific investors.
The Forum on Responsible Investing focused on the relevance of RI in the current global economic downturn. It also explored various ways in which ESG issues could be integrated into investment processes. Panelists and participants agreed that long term outperformance requires the current consideration of ESG issues. Different ESG research providers presented their capabilities on measuring and evaluating ESG factors in a portfolio. Furthermore, panelists agreed that ESG research allows for efficient risk measurement and management.
A conclusion to be drawn from these conferences is that transparent and independent equity research is a valuable tool to sail through the current volatile markets.